350-601 Storage Network Practice Question
A Cisco MDS switch is configured as an NPV switch to connect to a core switch. Which statement about NPV operation is true?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the misconception that an NPV switch performs fabric login or assigns FC IDs locally, when in fact it only forwards FLOGI/FDISC requests to the core switch and never allocates addresses itself.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The NPV switch uses FDISC to register multiple N-Port IDs from a single physical link.
In N_Port Virtualization (NPV) mode, a Cisco MDS switch acts as a passthrough device that aggregates multiple end-device N_Ports onto a single uplink to a core Fibre Channel switch. The NPV switch uses the Fabric Discovery (FDISC) protocol to register multiple N_Port IDs (NPIV) from a single physical link, allowing each end device to obtain its own FC ID from the core switch. This is correct because NPV does not assign FC IDs itself but relies on the core switch for fabric login and address assignment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The NPV switch allocates FC IDs to end devices from its own pool.
Why it's wrong here
FC IDs are allocated by the core fabric login server, not the NPV switch.
- ✓
The NPV switch uses FDISC to register multiple N-Port IDs from a single physical link.
Why this is correct
NPV uses FDISC to multiplex multiple N-Port IDs over the NP uplink to the core.
- ✗
The NPV switch requires at least one VSAN to be defined as a fabric VSAN.
Why it's wrong here
NPV works in default VSAN but a fabric VSAN is not required.
- ✗
The NPV switch performs fabric login (FLOGI) on behalf of all attached end devices.
Why it's wrong here
NPV switch performs NPIV FLOGI but not on behalf of all end devices; it handles FDISC for N-Port ID virtualization.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 350-601 question is part of Courseiva's 984-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-601 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 350-601 exam.